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good chance it
would work on Mandy too. Picking up something he knew she would
love, and would make her happy, Lyle turned back to the door.
“I’m ready,” he said firmly, trying to
ignore the butterflies that were having a carnival in his stomach.
“Open the door.”
One of the elves stepped forward and slid a
key into the lock, turned it, and stepped back. He nodded toward
the door and weakly smiled at Lyle, letting him know that was as
much as he was willing to do.
Lyle knew he would be responsible for
opening the door, and when he stepped closer, he was glad it would
be his task. Mandy was standing close to the entrance and would
have probably ripped him apart if they’d opened the door at that
moment. He stood and watched for agonizing minutes before Mandy
moved aimlessly away from the door and Kally wandered over.
Being as quiet as he possibly could, he
squatted down and eased the door open slightly. Her head jerked up
at the movement and a low hiss escaped her torn and bloody lips.
She darted forward with her arms raised, ready to grab her father.
He waited until the very last moment and raised the teddy bear with
the pink bow he’d been hiding behind the door, in front of him. Her
small body collided with the bear and a bright flash lit the
morgue. It only lasted a moment, but it blinded everyone. While
Lyle was blinking, trying to regain his site, he heard the sweet
voice of his little girl.
“Daddy? You got me a Mrs. Snuggles!” she
wrapped her little arms around the fuzzy plush toy and squeezed it
for all she was worth. “Thank you!”
Mandy, having also been blinded, started to
hiss and growl when she heard Kally speaking so close to her. But,
since she was rendered blind by the flash, she crashed into the
short morgue carts and tables, falling to the floor with her
outstretched hands mere inches from her healed daughter.
Lyle quickly scooped Kally into his arms
and closed the door, reveling in the soft warmth of his little
girl. His plan had worked! There was hope!
“Kally, sweetheart,” Lyle murmured, “I have
someone I would like you to meet. This is Santa Clause!”
Kally lifted her head and looked at Santa
with an expression of shocked awe. The expression, mixed with the
blood and gore that still covered her, was extremely comical.
“Nice to meet you, Kally,” Santa said.
“Would you like to go with a couple of my elves and get dressed in
something special and pretty for a big surprise?”
Kally grinned and nodded excitedly. “Can I
bring Mrs. Snuggles with me?”
“Of course!” Santa said, smiled, and
motioned for two female elves, who stepped forward and took charge
of Kally as Lyle set her down; he had a hard time letting her go,
but a slam against the morgue door reminded him he wasn’t finished
with his task yet.
Taking a deep breath as Kally left his
sight, Lyle picked something else up off the table; it was a new
laptop. He’d remembered Mandy had been pissed at hers for weeks
because it wouldn’t do the stuff she wanted. To him, it was the
perfect gift.
Taking a deep breath, he walked back over
to the door; inside Mandy was attacking things at random in her
rage. Before he could change his mind, he flung the door open and
stepped inside. Instantly she spun in his direction, hissing
loudly. In a flash he visually took inventory of the woman he
loved. Her wounds were gapping and dripped orangish-red blood onto
the floor, making it slippery. Her clothes were torn and tattered,
not just from the attack, but from clawing at them herself when
they’d gotten caught on the carts and tables when she’d fallen; he
could see scraps of fabric on their sharp edges and corners. Bites
of her flesh beneath peeked out and he witnessed the rot and the
grayish/green hue of her skin; he wondered if she could even be the
woman she’d once been, because right now, she wasn’t attractive at
all.
    Here goes
nothing , he thought and plastered a smile
on his face. I sure as hell hope